The present invention relates generally to the field of software marketing, and more particularly to the field of embedded software. Particular aspects of the present invention are described in the claims, specification and drawings.
Software lends itself to a number of distribution channels, apart from conventional sale or licensing of computer programs. One such channel is so-called shareware, in which a user is given a copy of the software, either in a demonstration, partially functional or fully functional version, and if the user wishes to continue using the product after a stated trial period, a license fee is paid to the producer. A variation on that theme is known as “freeware,” where no fee at all is charged. These systems are most often utility programs and the like, produced by enthusiasts.
A relatively recent form of software distribution may be termed “embedded software.” This term refers to situations in which a commercial entity seeks to gain some commercial advantage through a software installation on a user's computer, and it provides software desirable to the user to induce that use. The software desired by the user is bundled with software of interest to the distributor. A familiar example of this type is the Google toolbar, distributed by the Google search engine provider. Google distributes the toolbar, which offers several useful functionality features, including allowing a user to perform an internet search directly from the browser. Of course, the search is performed on Google, which benefits Google directly, but the user also gains in being able to perform rapid searching, as well as other features offered on the toolbar.
A number of US Patent Applications filed by the assignee of the present invention address a form of this software, in which a behavior monitoring module is resident on a client computer. That module records the user's internet activity and reports that information via cookies to a host system. In return, distributors of the module provide utility applications such as screen savers and the like to the user. Examples or such applications include U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/226,066, entitled “Method and Device for Publishing Cross-Network User Behavioral Data” filed on Sep. 14, 2005, published as US 2006-0136528 A1 on Jun. 22, 2006, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,693,863 on Apr. 6, 2010.
Such behavior monitoring applications can be used to provide targeted content, including advertising, to the user. Exposure of such advertising, as well as a user's response to the same, generates revenue from the host to the module's distributor. A problem can arise, however, when more than one such module is resident on a client computer. There, a revenue stream is generated, but attributing that revenue to a particular source is difficult. Most industry participants take the easy solution in this situation, eliminating any revenue participation by a second module.
That difficulty can have repercussions in the market. If, for example, a non-trivial number of client computers on which a given module is installed already have a module present, the resulting reduction of revenue may motivate a distributor against investing in such a marketing program.
A need exists, therefore, for a system for attributing revenue for such subscription-based software systems. The attribution must allow for multiple-module participation while remaining generally fair to the first-installed system. The method must also be easy to administer and capable of running from the module itself, which must recognize other modules within a client environment.